The essential elements in becoming a Digital Marketer

To come to the point where I went public, I’ve read lots of books. And then lots of blog posts. And then I’ve read some more books. It took me 2 years. From my first thoughts, to where I am now.

But at a certain moment it’s time to go. And just do it.

And that’s what I’ve been doing. And I think it’s working. I managed to convince lots of people we needed this change. Hey, we are changing like hell. Where changing our content, our tools, our processes, and the way we think about marketing.

To me, these are the essential elements that make the difference in becoming a digital marketer:

Reading books of thought leaders and lots of blogs

Constantly making notes of idea’s that turn theory into practice (in mindmaps and Evernote)

Taking the time to reflect what can work, and what will not work in your type of organization.

Starting with the end in mind, by seeing the complete picture

Taking the time to evangelize the ideas before you start

Getting your management on board and make them set the example

Develop a change management program that includes evangelization, training, communication and process development

Including the change to digital marketing and social marketing into the company strategy

I don’t know yet what this means to our business in terms of revenue. That’s definitely the next step we’ll be taking. And there’s still much more to do. But it feels right. It’s logical. I cannot imagine that we would do marketing different anymore. The whole marketing department feels it. This is the way to go. I have no doubt.

As the majority of the visitors don’t speak dutch, I’ll shortly repeat your question in english: “what was the most important trigger which made my management ‘go fort it’ ?

I think a number of elements:
– I already had a trusted relationship with them
– Out of the blue I created an extensive motivation why we should make this shift. It linked the classical believes of content marketing, digital marketing and social media with real examples of how we performed marketing at that time. The document was written in an entirely new style which reflected the non-formal and human style I wanted to go to. It also was very practical (meaning putting the theory in practice), giving lot’s of idea’s what we should change and why.

Contact me and I can tell you more, or maybe even help convince your new customer.

Thanks for the kind words,

Br,

Tom

Ben

Tom,

I am glad I found this blog at the right time. I have been working on a social media strategy for my organization for the past couple of weeks to present to the president randomly. Not only because that’s where my interests lie but also the fact that we have no real plan in place. Did this initial presentation also help you professionally within your career and organization?

There is not other choice if you want to advance your career. If you do not go down this route, you’ll soon be a dinosaur. In that perspective, you might want to check out the blog I wrote about ‘The End of the Bling Bling Marketer’.

In terms of organization, we now much better understand how we can reach our customers. The whole organization is now ‘on board’, no evangelization needed anymore. The only things we discuss now is how we will execute, measure and adapt.

About this blog

This blog is not about me. It is about modern marketing in todays digital world. It shares down to earth and practical tips on how to build marketing strategies, plan and execute them, as well as my own experiences on what I think differentiating marketing should be.

Opinions on this blog are mine.

About Tom De Baere

Everybody has a past, and everybody has experience. For me, my experience is 15 years in sales & marketing, in which I have developed a true passion for B2B marketing & communication.

Today I am managing partner in a company called Invisible Puppy, a digital agency specialized in helping companies to create marketing that people actually want.